


A Day in the Life

by echoflowertea



Series: Open Requests [33]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-02
Updated: 2016-10-02
Packaged: 2018-08-19 01:38:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8184140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/echoflowertea/pseuds/echoflowertea
Summary: For the skelebros, there’s no such thing as a “typical” day. But they have fun regardless!





	

**Author's Note:**

> **prompt** : I know you do reader inserts and all, but I was wondering if you could write a day in the life of Sans and Papyrus, maybe? Like, just those 2 hanging out, Sans being an annoying shit, Papy going crazy about The Sock™, Papy carrying Sans to his (really dirty) room in the evening because the dude fell asleep and won't wake up, etc? I need more brotherly love in my life (instead of all the gross incest) and you're such a great writer. ;-; ...But I understand if you refuse. That's okay. :') 3

“SANS! WE ARE GOING TO MISS EVERYTHING IF YOU DON’T GET UP! I HEARD YOUR ALARM GO OFF NEARLY AN HOUR AGO!!!”

Sans grinned. He really was awake, but he just liked messing with his brother as much as possible. He turned over and buried himself more into the covers, knowing that soon Papyrus would come stomping up the stairs. He would pretend to snooze away, so deep in sleep that nothing could shake him. But really he was on his phone texting away and checking up on all of his favorite social media sites, trolling username “coolskeleton95” with awful memes and puns.

“NOOOOO! WHO IS THIS? WHO KEEPS SENDING ME TERRIBLE PICTURES OF UNDERCOOKED PASTA?!”

He chuckled.

Three…

**Shuffle.**

Two…

**STOMP STOMP.**

One.

**BANG BANG BANG!**

“SANS I AM COMING IN, YOU HAD BETTER BE DECENT! AND MY DECENT I MEAN IF I SEE ONE DIRTY SOCK ON THE FLOOR I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!”

The door slammed open and Sans stifled his laughter. He could hear the silent screams resounding in his brother’s head from here.

“WHAT DID I SAY?! LOOK AT THIS MESS! OH MY GOD, IT’S HORRIBLE??? HOW DO YOU LIVE LIKE THIS?! YOU’RE LUCKY YOU HAVE SUCH A COOL BROTHER TO TAKE CARE OF YOU, OTHERWISE YOU WOULD PERISH IN THIS…DISASTER!!!”

Sans managed to keep a lid on it while his brother approached him. He grabbed hold of the covers and yanked them off.

“I KNOW YOU ARE NOT RESTING, BECAUSE YOU SNORE. NOW STOP DRAGGING YOUR FEET AND GET READY! WE HAVE TO LEAVE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE—WAIT, WHAT?”

Papyrus glanced down and couldn’t believe it. The familiar lump that was buried in the blankets disappeared and his brother was nowhere to be found. How did he…? He could have sworn that Sans was still in bed, he could hear the telltale sound of wheezy laughter when he first entered. How did he managed to slip by him? Papyrus searched the entire mattress for any clue, lifting it up even to see if Sans somehow managed to squeeze underneath, but there was no sign of him.

“I SEE…IF YOU ARE GOING TO PLAY GAMES, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD GO UP AGAINST SOMEONE FAR LESS CUNNING THAN I.”

He whipped around and darted toward the closet. Put his hands on the knobs and tore them open, fully expecting to see his brother’s grinning face nestled between the clothing.

“AHA!”

Empty. Papyrus hummed and ran his hand along his chin, thinking hard. So this was what his brother wanted to do this morning. A scavenger hunt for him! Well, he was fine with that. His superior puzzle solving skills would make it so that he would track down his brother no problem. He was confident that whatever dastardly plans Sans had for him would ultimately fail.

He looked around for any clues. The place was a disaster; the tornado came back in full force and whipped up bits of trash and dirty laundry. The smell was enough that Papyrus was just glad no one else had to suffer through this with him.

And there it was.

A lone slipper that pointed in the direction of the hallway.

Papyrus lifted it up and inspected it. Judging on the position, it was pointed toward…his room!

He followed the trail that Sans left him. A small leaf that must’ve shed from his clothes sat in the middle of his doorway.

Papyrus let himself in and glanced around, looking for anything out of the ordinary in his spotless and organized place. From the corner of his eye he saw a small slip of paper sticking outside of a book on his shelf. He pulled it out and somehow the pressure released a long, offensive fart noise that echoed in his room. Papyrus groaned and tried to listen for any of his brother’s tells, like laughter in the house, but found nothing. The only thing written on the note was this:

_“gotcha.”_

So it was a distraction and there was something else around. He dropped his gaze to the floor and scrutinized every last spot on the rug, trying to pinpoint what he must’ve overlooked.

Wait!

Tucked in the corner of the room was a small stain that could only be…toothpaste!

So Sans was getting ready after all. Papyrus glanced at its placement and did some minor calculations in his head. His brother would have wanted to throw him off and make him think that he wasn’t still brushing his teeth, but he knew better than that. So with the utmost grace, he bolted out of the room and headed down the hallway to the bathroom.

He opened the door and something crusty fell on top of his head.

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of his neck and he reached up. If he had a stomach, it would be twisting. His fingers touched the hardened surface and he let out a high-pitched scream.

“SAAAAAANNNNNSSSS!!!”

Papyrus made a beeline for the shower to jump in and scrub at his skull, only to get the living daylights scared out of him when a shadowy figure emerged from the curtains. A grinning, hollow skeleton!

“GAAAGHK!”

He tripped on something fluffy that yipped at him in response and crashed into the hamper.  He fell in a heap of clothes that should’ve been washed in the beginning of the week, but ones that Sans had refused to take care of no matter how many times he demanded.

“WHAT IS THIS? UGH! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO TAKE CARE OF THIS DAYS AGO!!!”

“i did, bro. see? washed this towel.” Sans held up a tiny dishrag. “put some soap and water on it. that’s how it gets clean, right?”

After taking another full hour of scrubbing away the filth and smell, Papyrus was – once again – ready to leave. He headed down the stairs and threw his scarf over his shoulder, nearly going ballistic when he saw Sans kicking his feet.

“SANS, YOU KNOW THE RULES. FEET OFF THE TABLE.”

His brother moved them with a grin.

“NOT ON THE COUCH EITHER!!”

Back to the table.

“WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!”

“you said to keep ‘em off the couch.”

“AND THE TABLE!”

“ok.”

Feet back on the couch.

“UGH! I AM NOT PLAYING THIS GAME WITH YOU. I’VE GATHERED MY SUPPLIES AND I’M READY. LET’S GO!”

“ok. next time we should leave earlier, we’ll be late at this rate.”

The look that Papyrus gave him would set him on fire if he had such power.

Although it was a little chilly outside, both of the brothers were glad to be out in the crisp fall air. In Snowdin, it was perpetually cold – hence the name of the town. While the both of them greatly enjoyed it because it was much easier to bundle up, things on the surface were much more interesting this way. The changing seasons gave them a chance to reflect on the years gone by and actually appreciate that their freedom was no longer a fantasy, but a reality.

Papyrus liked the way that the color of the leaves changed. How it would go from bright green to yellows, browns and reds. He found it so fascinating that the atmosphere could twist and bend at will with just a temperature shift, the trees themselves preparing for a harsh winter that would test their determination and resolve. He loved to watch them bloom again in the spring and mourn those that didn’t make it. Undyne said he was a weenie for it, but it really did make him happy.

The path they took was something they made together. Their house sat on the edge of a forest, familiar territory, so they could take long walks on their days off. With almost everyone still in school or at work, the brothers had the entire place to themselves. Stepping on leaves and hearing them crunch. Papyrus led the way with his confident swagger and Sans shuffling behind with his backpack full.

“WHAT PUZZLES SHALL WE CREATE TODAY?”

“somethin’ hard.”

“OH, GOODIE! I DO LIKE A CHALLENGE. I HAVE SO MANY GREAT SUPPLIES, I THINK THE CHILDREN WILL VERY MUCH ENJOY IT!”

It was clear enough outside for Papyrus to rifle through his boxes and boxes of tricks. Although monsters no longer had to worry about making traps to stop humans from hurting them, it was still tradition. And he really was quite good at creating them. But now they were less fatal and more thought-provoking, and aimed toward the human kids that hung around the park. They got a real kick out of solving the puzzles that the brothers created together; in fact, they were quite popular amongst the younger generation because of this.

“…AND I THINK THAT WE SHOULD SHIFT THIS SO IT STANDS THIS WAY.”

Papyrus put his hands on his hips and stepped backwards to admire his handiwork.

“WHAT DO YOU THINK, SANS?”

His brother chuckled and flicked some more confetti on top of the massive structure. “good work, bro. they’re gonna love it.”

“THANK YOU. I HOPE I’VE OUTDONE MYSELF. THE KEY IS TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT THEY WILL ENJOY SOLVING, BUT NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY WILL GIVE UP TOO EASILY ON. I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO CHALLENGE OUR YOUTH AND MAKE SURE THEIR MINDS ARE SHARP!”

“yep. i'm with ya there. don’t wanna have ‘em get dull.”

“EXACTLY.”

“we should have some knives then.”

“…WHAT??? THAT IS COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE AND UNSAFE.”

“but bro. how else will we keep them _sharp_?”

Papyrus narrowed his eyes. “PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS LEAF STATUE OF MYSELF.”

Sans really didn’t move or do much, but when his brother asked him for assistance, he was glad. A little bit of ribbing first, of course, but it got done eventually. He and Papyrus worked together in order to craft an entirely new obstacle course from basically nothing.

It was good to see the environment shift from boring to exciting. Papyrus really did have such a creative mind in piecing together things that would make the kids jump for joy and maybe grow a little frustrated with, but ultimately solve once they put their heads together. He got the neighborhood kids, both monsters and humans, to cooperate with each other for their weekly Skelebro Solution!

“WELL, NOW THAT WE ARE DONE WITH THAT, LET’S CONTINUE THE REST OF OUR WALK!!!”

Papyrus hummed as he put away all of the extra things he didn’t need for the puzzles in his MTT-brand backpack. He tromped along the windy path and gazed at the rows of trees, his brother at his side this time.

“hey, look at that one over there.”

“OOOH! THAT DESERVES TO GO IN THE SKETCHBOOK!”

Papyrus fished out a giant pad that he used to scribble on. He plopped down onto the sidewalk and a bunch of crayons and colored pencils fell out of his pencil case. It was in the shape of a bone, something that Sans bought him for his birthday last year. He chose the appropriate colors and got to work on capturing the scene in front of him. Tongue poking from between his teeth as he did his best to get the shading just right. Adding shadows and light where it was needed.

“lookin’ good, bro. wanna see mine?”

Sans showed him a blank piece of paper.

“YOU DIDN’T EVEN DRAW ANYTHING???”

“s’called _minimalism_. you wouldn’t get it.”

“THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MINIMALISM AND LAZINESSISM. AT LEAST TRY TO COMMEMORATE THIS EVENT. SOON THE SNOW WILL COME AND DESTROY ALL OF THIS, WE NEED TO MARK THE OCCASION TO SHOW TO OUR NEAT HUMAN FRIENDS!!!”

Papyrus already had a plan of what he would do with the sketch. He would frame it and gift it to someone special.

Sans laughed under his breath and grabbed a fat sharpie, drawing something abstract just to get his brother off his back. To be honest, he didn’t see the appeal in putting so much effort into a drawing. He was used to creating blueprints and then piecing together machinery. But if it made his brother happy, he would play along. After all, this was yet another day on the surface that Papyrus wanted to make note of. Something so Sans wouldn’t…forget.

Papyrus finished his masterpiece. “LOOKIE!!! WE SHOULD PUT THIS IN OUR SCRAPBOOK OF THINGS. CAN YOU HAND ME THAT LEAF?”

“this one?”

“…THAT IS A BLADE OF GRASS.”

“ _beleaf_ me bro, it was an honest mistake.”

“ENOUGH!!!”

Papyrus handled the drawing with great care and tucked it away. Sans handed him the bright orange leaf and he pressed it within the pages, bearing the weight of his gloves down on the paper so it would flatten and be preserved for months to come. That way, he could open up this book when they were years down the line and still remember the peaceful atmosphere that they could enjoy together.

“I AM HAPPY WE CAME. IT IS VERY NICE OUT TODAY. THE WIND IS COOL, THE TREES ARE ROCKING STEADY IN THE BREEZE. EVEN THE SKY IS CLEAR AND THE SUN STRONG AGAINST MY BONES.”

“yep. pretty great.”

Papyrus sighed. “DO YOU THINK THAT HUMANS ENJOY THIS? OR THAT THEY TAKE IT FOR GRANTED?”

Sans thought hard. His brother was much more open with his feelings than he was, a trait he really admired. It was nice to be family with someone who could push him to share his thoughts.

“guess it’s a little bit of both. humans are weird.”

“NYEH HEH HEH. TRUE.” Papyrus reclined on the park bench and smiled up at the sky. “THEY HAVE THIS ENTIRE WORLD TO APPRECIATE AND SOME OF THEM DON’T EVEN TAKE THE TIME TO DO SO. PERHAPS WE ARE JUST BIASED BECAUSE WE LIVED UNDERGROUND, BUT IT IS VERY TOUCHING TO BE UP HERE. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO DO AND SEE! THE WORLD IS VAST. BUT NOT TOO BIG THAT THE SKELETON BROTHERS CAN’T CONQUER IT ONE EXPERIENCE AT A TIME.”

“got all the time in the world.”

“INDEED. It IS…SAD…TO THINK THAT HUMANS HAVE SUCH SHORT LIFESPAN. PERHAPS THAT IS WHY WE ARE ABLE TO REMINISCE AND ENJOY OURSELVES DAY BY DAY…AND THEY ARE NOT.”

He looked downtrodden at that fact. Sans laughed weakly.

“c’mon, bro. no use in dwellin’ on it. for humans, it’s a long time. n’ a lot of ‘em do make use of it. they’re just much more fast-paced than us, y’know?”

“TRUE…” He trailed off and let out a heaving sigh. “WELL. THAT IS ENOUGH REFLECTION. I SUPPOSE WE SHOULD START HEADING BACK HOME. JUST IN TIME FOR BREAKFAST. I AM MAKING OATMEAL.”

“with the little dinosaur eggs in ‘em?”

“OF COURSE. ONLY A FOOL WOULD EAT ANYTHING ELSE!!!”

“heh. alright, bro. let’s go.”

The both of them made sure not to trigger any of the traps that they made. Papyrus let them in with his housekey, humming a cheerful tune as he let them inside.

As soon as the door opened, Annoying Dog ran out with something between his tiny jaws.

“WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT IS THAT??? SANS, DID THE DOG GET YOUR SOCK AGAIN?! GET IT BACK BEFORE HE BURIES IT IN THE BACKYARD, I’M SICK OF DIGGING THEM UP!!!”

“he likes ‘em.”

“WELL I DON’T. YOU HAD BETTER FETCH THEM BEFORE I’M FINISHED MAKING BREAKFAST FOR THE BOTH OF US. OR THERE…WILL BE…CONSEQUENCES!!!”

Papyrus knew that it was mostly empty threats. He headed inside and prepared the packets of oatmeal. Sans never liked to eat any of it anyway, he mostly just picked out the sugary bits and consumed them whole. He was the type of monster that would buy a box of Fortuitous Tokens and end up consuming just the little marshmallow bits in various shapes and colors.

“SANS! BREAKFAST IS READY!” Papyrus dried his hands on the apron that his brother bought him that read _Smooch The Chef_ with his own face on it. He set down both bowls on the table. “I AM GOING TO START WITHOUT YOU IF YOU DON’T HURRY UP!”

Sans trudged inside and plopped down on the chair. Took his spoon. And immediately began to fish out just the candy eggs, shoveling them into his mouth.

“ONCE WE’RE FINISHED, WE NEED TO SPRUCE UP THE HOUSE A BIT. SEEING AS HOW WE’RE BOTH HERE, IT SHOULDN’T TAKE LONG AT ALL.”

“c’mon, bro. we can put it off another day.”

Sans pushed the rest of the oatmeal away and Papyrus grabbed it to finish it off. Sharing food was common between the brothers Underground because it could be so expensive some paydays and it wasn’t exactly easy to find things to make it.

“WELL…”

“why do today what you can do tomorrow?” Sans winked. “besides, we gotta take the trash out tomorrow, two. might as well kill two birds with one stone.”

“…YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I DISLIKE THAT EXPRESSION…NO ONE SHOULD DO A VIOLENCE. ESPECIALLY NOT TO HARMLESS ANIMALS. BUT YOU ARE RIGHT, IT WOULD BE SILLY TO SPEND THAT MUCH EFFORT WHEN WE HAVE MORE CHORES TO DO TOMORROW. OKIE DOKIE. LET’S JUST RELAX FOR TODAY!”

Relaxing for Papyrus was…more like sitting glued to his laptop while Sans put on the TV.

He was really fond of social media. He had several accounts on all types of sites, and while he didn’t exactly have a fanbase, he did have a steady following. Humans in particular thought he was hilarious and he updated every day with vlogs, mostly about cooking and what was needed to become a Royal Guard. Sans was always the first one to comment on his stuff, mostly to mess with him, while Papyrus’ Internet friends jumped to defend him.

“SANS, LOOK AT THIS VIDEO. IT’S CALLED THE ‘EGG’CELLENT CHALLENGE!”

“heh heh heh. oh my god.”

“I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT ENJOY THAT.”

“whaddo they do?”

“YOU JUST…CONSUME RAW EGGS.”

“what.”

“AND TRY NOT TO VOMIT.”

“ _what._ ”

“THE NUMBER OF EGGS YOU CAN SWALLOW WITHOUT DOING SO IS A CONFIRMATION OF YOUR STATUS. ONE EGG IS CONSIDERED ‘UNCOOL’. TWO EGGS IS ‘WEAK’. SO ON AND SO FORTH. SANS…”

“no.”

“BUT I WANT TO KNOW!!!”

“paps. _no._ ”

“WE HAVE THE NECESSARY MATERIALS???”

“uh uh.”

“YOU’RE NO FUN AT ALL, SANS.” But he was smiling when he said it.

The day seemed to melt away when they really didn’t have anything to do. They ate, watched some movies together, and really just got into minor squabbles about things that siblings messed with each other for. Anything and everything. But it was never meant to be harsh or cause hurt feelings, it was just bickering and nothing more.

Papyrus felt a lot more rested than usual, even though he’d spend the latter half of the day writing up drafts for future puzzles, working on word searches and brushing up on his knowledge of appropriate cutlery for extravagant dishes.

Dinner was a free-for-all. Papyrus made something for himself while Sans left to bring back takeout. The bag was greasy enough that it left a mark on the counter and Papyrus’ entire face nearly started twitching from how disgusting it was. But he bit his tongue because his brother seemed to really be enjoying it, and just vowed that he would take a warm sponge and scrub away at all of the remnants later.

“OH, I KNOW! LET’S WATCH THAT COOKING SHOW WHERE THE HUMANS COMPETE FOR THE TOP POSITION!”

“you should go on there someday, bro.”

Sparkles in his eyesockets. “WOWIE, REALLY? YOU THINK I CAN DO IT?”

“you can do anything.”

“I…THINK I MAY TRY OUT SOME DAY! I WILL PERFECT MY RECIPES AND THEN AUDITION. WILL YOU BE THERE TO CHEER ME ON, SANS?”

“no doubt.” Sans grinned. “who else is gonna be there to embarrass you?”

“I CHANGE MY MIND, YOU’RE UNINVITED!!!”

It was getting late. Papyrus hadn’t even noticed until he realized that the provocative human shows came on the screen, so he turned it off and decided it was best to head to bed. But the minute he rose from the couch, he realized that his brother was completely crashed out. Snoozing hard, drooling on the couch pillows, snoring away and completely relaxed.

There was no use in trying to wake him. Papyrus knew that his brother really had problems with getting to sleep, even years after they’d been to the surface. It had to do more with letting his guard down than anything. Even in naps he was always just resting his eyes and acting like he was completely out of it.

So he did what any good brother would do.

He lifted his brother up from the couch and made his way up the stairs.

It was funny. When they were younger, Papyrus was the one that was carried around quite a bit. He used to be smaller than Sans, believe it or not. And he had issues with putting on shoes a lot of the times, it felt too constricting and he could never tie his laces properly. Sans’ solution was to make sure he carted him around so he never injured himself on things lying on the ground.

But now…

He could return the favor. Even though he knew it was just a part of Sans’ laziness and that his brother was fully capable of going up to his room if roused from his sleep, Papyrus didn’t want to disturb him.

They were brothers! And doing nice things for siblings was normal, at least for them. They would be together through the thick and thin, and something like this was small in the grand scheme of things.

He tucked Sans into bed and made sure to turn on his banana-shaped nightlight. Why Sans was so tickled by it, Papyrus would never know. But he made sure that his brother was buried in the covers comfortably, that the glow in the dark stars were bright in the darkened part of his room, and that he closed the door quietly so he wouldn’t stir.

Papyrus retired to his own room and sighed. Stretched his arms over his head. Nestled within his sports car bed…

And dreamed of tomorrow.

**Author's Note:**

>  **please comment**! your feedback gives me LIFE!!!!
> 
> come hang with me on **[tumblr](http://echoflowertea.tumblr.com/read)**!


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